School Board Selection

May 30, 1989

In both York and James City counties, efforts are under way to allow school board members to be appointed by boards of supervisors. There's a lot to be said for such a change.

School board members in York and James City are appointed now by commissions, whose members are selected by circuit court judges. That's also the way board members are chosen in 47 of Virginia's counties. But in 48 counties and in all of the cities and towns, school board members are chosen by supervisors or city or town councils.

To make that change, supporters in York and James City will have to collect enough signatures on petitions to call for a referendum on the matter. Then voters will have to support the idea.

They should, for one reason in particular: It would move the selection process closer to the public. Now, because school board members are chosen by a court-appointed panel, many feel the process is too removed from the voters. With selection by supervisors, voters could at least have some voice, albeit an indirect one. But that's more than they have now.

Allowing supervisors to select board members could also improve relations between the two boards and would serve to make them more accountable to the voters. Even the chairman of the selection commission in James City County, John Donaldson, has called for a change to end what he says is an awkward process. "A lot can be said for having elected officials more deeply involved," he says.

So why not just elect school boards? Because elections would make school boards highly political and, while some responsiveness to the public and elected officials is a good idea, politicizing the posts isn't.

Opponents of supervisor-selected school boards contend the process could hurt schools, especially if supervisors punish members by failing to reappoint those with whom they disagree. That's certainly possible but it's also a concern that can be guarded against.

In short, there are good reasons to make the change and no insurmountable reasons to block it.